Hoist for transporting invalids



May 27,1952 R. K. LEWIS 2,598,570

HOIST FOR TRANSPORTING INVALIDS Filed June 5. 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l l6 7? an a 5 a? X X X X as 20 22 i,

I x? 27 z! Aby A. [5M5 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY May 27, 1952 v gw s 2,598,570

HOIST FOR TRANSPORTING INVALIDS Filed June 5, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Willi/111T!) Roy A. Z EW/J IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNE Y Patented May 27, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOIST FOR TRANSPORTING INVALIDS RoyKLLewis, Dallas, Tex. Application June 5, 1950, Serial No. 166,272

2 Claims. 21214) This invention relates to hoists for transporting invalids from one place to another and more particularly to such hoists by means of which the invalid may be lifted from a bed and moved to another location while the invalid remains immobile.

Very often gravely injured persons or invalids must be maintained almost absolutely immobile since movement of any member of the injured person's body may result in aggravation of the already existing injuries or the infliction of new injuries. At times, however, the invalids must be moved from one location to another, e. g., from a hospital room to the operating or X-ray room. Devices employed to lift the invalid from his bed andtransport him from one location to another must be easily handled, must not have numerous components which might come in contact with the patients body, and must enable the body of th invalid to be kept immobile as he is lifted from the bed and thereafter transported.

Accordingly,'it is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved hoist for transporting invalids.

It is another object of my invention to provide a new and improved hoist for transporting an invalid while-maintaining his body immobile.

It .is still another object of my invention to provide a new and improved invalid transporting device of simple construction which is easily operable to move the patient while th patient remains in an immobile position.

Briefly stated my new and improved hoist comprises a pair of wheeled standard which support a pair of rails along which travels a carriage. A sprocket and chain drive is connected to the carriage for moving it along the rails between the standards. The carriage is provided with a worm gear driven reel to which is attached one end of a rope or other flexible member. The other end of the rep is secured to platform to raise or lower the platform as the reelis rotated.

For a better understanding of my invention reference may be had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

I Figure 1 is a side view of my new and improved hoist for transporting invalids;

Figure 2 is a top plan view oi the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3.3 of Figure 1, with a shaft partly broken away to show clearly the reel assembly;

Figure 4 is an end view of the device shown in Figure 1 partly broken away;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the carriage and its associated structure; and V Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing, a pair of standards I0 and II support a pair of rails I2 and I3 along which travels a carriag I4. Each of the standards Ill and II comprises a vertical tubular member I5 having its lower end rigidly secured to a bottom cross member I6 by any suitable means such as the T-coupling H. The cross members I6 are weighted, as by filling with the lead I8, in order tomake the standards more stable. A pair of reinforcing members I9 and 23 connect the extremities of each cross member I6 to tubular member I5 and are secured to members I5 and I6 by means of screws 2I. The cross members I6 are also provided with casters 22 and 23 rotatably mounted on cross members I6, in any conventional manner, in order that the standards I5 may be easily rolled from one place to another.

The upper end of each tubular member I5 is exteriorly threaded to engage the interior threads of a bracket 24 which is provided with an outwardly extending flange 25. Rigidly secured, by welding or other conventional means, to flange 25 are spaced side plates 26 and 21. Side plates 26 and 21 could be integral with bracket 24 if it were so desired. A shaft 28 to which are rigidly attached a pair of sprockets 29 and 30 has its ends journaled in appropriate registering apertures provided in the side plates 26 and 21.

The support rails I2 and I3 rest upon flange 25 and'are secured to the side plates 26 and 21,

respectively, of standards I0 and II by means of bolts 3I and 32 respectively. A pair of guide rails 33 and 34 are also secured to the side plates 26 and 21, respectively, of standards It! and II by means of bolts 35 and 36,-respectively. The guide rails 33 and 34 are spaced from and extend above and parallel to support rails I2 and I3, respectively. Support rails I2 and I3 support the rotatable shafts 31 and 38 journaled in the frame members 39 and 4!! of carriage I4 while guide rails 33 and 34.prevent the shafts 31 and 38 from being displaced from, or jumping, support rails I2 and I3. Shaft 31 is provided with inner flanges 4| and 42 and outer flanges 43 and 44 while shaft 38 is provided withinner flanges 45 and 46 and outer flanges 41 and 48. These flanges 4Iv to 48 are provided to maintain carriage I4 properly centered between the rails. Substantially. U-

shaped brackets 49 and 50 extend over and along the outer sides of rails I2, i3, 33 and 34 and are secured to these rails by means of bolts 5! or any other suitabl means. Brackets 49 and 50 maintain the rails in proper alignment.

In order to provide a means for moving carriage l4 between standards l and II along rails i2 and I3, shafts 31 and 38 have been provided with sprockets 52 and 53, respectively, which. are

rigidly secured to shafts 31 and 38. An endless chain 54 engages sprockets 52 and 53 and passes around each sprocket 30 in the shafts 28 of standards 10 and II. Each standard l0 and [I is provided intermediate its ends with a shaft 55 which is rotatably journaled in the tubular memher and which has rigidly attached at one end a wheel 56 provided with a handle 51. Disposed within each tubular member I5 and rigidly secured to the shaft 55 is a sprocket 58. An endless chain 59 extends between sprockets 58 and 2 9"so that when wheel 56 is rotated, chain 59 rotates sprocket 29 and shaft '28. This in turn causes sprocket 29 to be rotated moving the endless chain 54 either in clockwise or counterclockwise direction, Figure 6. Since chain 54 engages sprockets 52 and 53 ofshafts 31 and 38, shafts 3'! and 38 are rotated and carriage l4 is moved either toward standard I0 or standard H. It win be noted that since both standards I!) and H have been provided w'ith wheels 55 and their associated structures, the position ofcarriage I on rails I 2 and l 3 can be controlled from either standaifd I 0 or H. a

A reel 61) is mounted between frame members "39 40 by means of ashaft 6| rotatably jourtraded in frame member 3'9 and 40. Reel 60 and a gearezere rigidly secured to shaft 6|. A shaft 53 is rotatably journaled in a pair of cross memhers 64 and 65 which are rigidly secured to frame members 39 and 40. Cross member's 64 and 65 may have their ends exteriorly threaded to engage interiorly threaded registering apertures in frame members 33 and 40. Besides acting as mounting meansfor shaft 53, cross members 64 and 65 maintain frame members 39 and 40 in properly spaced relationship. Spacers 6'6 and 61 and 6B and 69 may be loosely mounted on shafts 37 and 38, respectively, between frame members 39 and 40 and the inner flanges to maintain carriage l4 properly positioned between the rails.

litigidly secured to one end of shaft 63 is a bevel gear 15 which meshes with abevel gear H V rigidly secured to one end of a shaft 12 rotatably io'urn'aled in frame member '40. Handle I3 is secured to the other end of shaft 12 by any suitable mea s such as a T-coupling' 14. Also rigid- 1y secured en shaft 63 is a worm gear 15 which meshes with gear 62 to rotate gear 62 and shaft 5i when handle 14 is turned. Since reel 60 is rigidly secured to shaft 6], it also rotates when handle 14 is turned to wind or unwind a flexible member 15 such as a rope or cable, one of whose seas is secured to reel 60. A worm gear 15 is used to obviate the use of a locking means for 71 without any hindrance.

being very fiat can be inserted beneath an invalid pair of supporting members 83 and 84 are also provided at each side of platform 11 and are connected to platform 11 intermediate its ends and also to one side bar 80. The side bars at the sides of platform T! are connected by a cross bar to the center of which is connected the end of flexible member 15 which is not connected to reel 60. Lifting members 18 and 19 and supporting members 83 and 84 are preferably detachably connected to platform 11 by snaps or other conventional detachable means, not shown, in detail, in order that the patient or invalid can be initially placed on platform and the bed with a minimum movement of the invalids body. If the invalid is very seriously injured so that the last movement of his body might be deleterious, the invalid, once placed on platform 17, will not be moved until his condition improves to the point where complete iinmobilization is no longer necessary.

In moving the invalid from one place to the other, the standards [0 and H are wheeled to a position in which the rails l2 and I3 extend (wet the bed from its foot to its head. The lifting members 18 and T9 and the supporting members 83 and 84. are attached to the platform 11 which is on the bed underneath the invalid. Only the cross bar 85 will then extend over the invalids body in proximity to his body "so that th'e'reis little likelihood that some part of the hoistingappara'tus will contact any portion of the invalids body. The carriage I4 is then moved by means of one of the wheels 55 until it isin such a position over the bed that flexible member IE will exert an upward force directly over' the center-of gravity of the loaded platform W when handle 13 is turned to lift platform I! and the invalid off the bed. Since usually a number of persons, nurses, doctors and erasures, are present whenever a gravely ill or seriously injured person is moved, the platform will be steadied by one of these attendants during the movement of the platform. Handle 13 is then turned until platform I! clears the bed. The" whole apparatus is then pushed or pulled by means of the bars 85 and handles 81 secured to' each tubular memher is to move the patient to another location where the platform 11' and the invalid will be lowered to another bed, an operating or X- ray table, or to any other desired resting place. The platform 11 is also provided at each end with loops 83 to provide a means for fastening plat form Tl tostandards H) and H to help steady the platform.

Each tubular member I5 is also provided with a hinged door 89 provided with a latch 9i! toprovide access to sprocket 58 and chain 59' for main' tenance' purposes.

It will be readily apparent that the hoisting apparatus of my invention is very simple in con struction having only one fiexiltllemember 16 by means of which the platform 1 is raised. As a result, the invalid is not exposed to the danger of having any one of a number of ropes or cable's fouling and coming in contact with his body. The simplicity of construction also leads to" simplicity of operation so that even personnel not trained in the operation (if hoistingiaptaratus can at first glance operate thehcistsa'tisf' rly.

While I have shown a particular preferred enibodirn'ent' of my invention, it will te anus i those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing Platform 11 itself from my invention and I, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hoisting and transporting apparatus, a pair of freely movable vertical upright members; a sprocket journaled in the upper end of each of said upright members; carriage supporting means extending horizontally between said upright members; a sprocket chain operating on said sprockets whose leads are parallel with said carriage supporting means; a carriage movably mounted on said carriage supporting means for horizontal movement along said supporting means; a hoist reel shaft journaled in said carriage; a reel on said reel shaft; a sprocket wheel on said shaft between the leads of said chain and in engagement therewith; a worm gear on said reel shaft; a second shaft journaled in said carriage below said reel shaft; a worm on said second shaft engaging said worm gear for rotating said worm gear to impart rotation to said hoist reel shaft to actuate said reel and to move said carriage along said supporting means.

2. In a hoisting and transporting apparatus, a pair of freely movable vertical upright members; a sprocket wheel in the upper end of each of said upright members; carriage supporting means extending horizontally between said upright members; a carriage movably mounted on said carriage supporting means for horizontal movement along said supporting means; a hoist reel shaft journaled transversely in said carriage; a hoist reel mounted on said reel shaft; a sprocket wheel aflixed to said reel shaft; a sprocket chain operable on the sprocket wheels in said upright members and whose upper and lower leads engage the teeth ofthe sprocket wheel on said reel shaft; a flexible member having one end secured to said reel; a worm gear aflixed to said reel and mounted on said reel shaft; an operating shaft in said carriage; a worm operated by said last named shaft and engaging said worm gear, and a handle for rotating said operating shaft to rotate said reel shaft.

ROY K. LEWIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 9,215 Hopkins Aug. 24, 1852 302,727 Hardeman et al. July 29, 1884 560,145 McGehee May 12, 1896 1,051,728 German Jan. 24, 1913 1,536,766 Cammann May 5, 1925 

